Security in the Contemporary World

Traditional Security: • Traditional (or conventional) security focuses on the military threats to the state from other states — war, invasion, and armed conflict. • The traditional view defines security as the protection of state sovereignty and territorial integrity through military deterrence, alliances, and arms control. • Traditional security is state-centric: the state is both the primary referent (what is being protected) and the primary agent (who provides protection). • Main instruments: military capability, deterrence, alliances, disarmament treaties. • Example: India's security concern about Pakistan's nuclear weapons or China's military build-up is a traditional security issue. Non-Traditional Security: • Non-traditional security expands the concept beyond military threats — recognising that states and people can be threatened by a wide range of non-military dangers. • Non-traditional security is both broader (more types of threat) and deeper (the referent is not just the state but human beings — 'human security'). Categories of Non-Traditional Security Threats: 1. Terrorism: Non-state actors using violence against civilian populations for political ends — now a primary security concern globally after 9/11. 2. Environmental threats: Climate change, deforestation, rising sea levels, natural disasters — threaten states, economies, and human life on a global scale. 3. Human security: Threats to individual human beings — poverty, disease, forced displacement, hunger — the 'freedom from want' and 'freedom from fear' framework. 4. Pandemic diseases: HIV/AIDS, SARS, COVID-19 — infectious diseases that cross borders and kill millions. 5. Nuclear proliferation: The spread of nuclear weapons to more states (North Korea) or non-state actors. 6. Migration and refugee flows: Forced displacement by conflict or climate creates humanitarian crises and political tensions. 7. Cybersecurity: Attacks on critical infrastructure, electoral systems, financial systems. 8. Food and energy security: Dependence on imported food or energy creates vulnerabilities. Human Security (UNDP 1994 Report): • The concept of human security shifts focus from state security to the security of individual human beings. • Seven dimensions: economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security.

Terrorism: • Terrorism is the use or threat of violence against civilians or non-combatants by non-state actors (or occasionally state actors) for political, ideological, or religious ends. • The goal of terrorism is not just to kill but to create fear, demoralise societies, and provoke overreactions that further the terrorists' political goals. Global Terrorism before 9/11: • Terrorism was largely a regional or national phenomenon — the IRA in Northern Ireland, ETA in Spain, the Red Brigades in Italy, various Palestinian groups. • International dimensions existed but were limited. 9/11 and the New Era of Global Terrorism: • The Al-Qaeda attacks on 11 September 2001 — hijacking four planes and crashing them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people — represented a qualitative shift: - Scale: Larger and more sophisticated than any previous non-state terrorist attack. - Global reach: Al-Qaeda was a transnational network with operatives across dozens of countries. - Ideology: Jihadist extremism with global ambitions — not a national liberation movement. - Technology: Used the internet for recruitment, financing, and coordination. Post-9/11 Responses: 1. US 'War on Terror': - Invasion of Afghanistan (2001): Overthrew Taliban regime harbouring Al-Qaeda. - Invasion of Iraq (2003): Based on false intelligence; created conditions for the rise of ISIS. - Extraordinary measures: Guantanamo Bay detention, waterboarding, mass surveillance (NSA PRISM programme). 2. International cooperation: Counter-terrorism cooperation among intelligence agencies; UN Security Council Resolution 1373 required all states to criminalise terrorism and cut off financing. 3. Rise of ISIS: The chaos in Iraq and Syria created the Islamic State (ISIS) — which briefly controlled a large territory and inspired attacks worldwide. 4. Impact on civil liberties: Counter-terrorism measures (surveillance, detention without trial) raised serious human rights concerns in democracies. India and Terrorism: • India has been a major victim of cross-border terrorism — attacks inspired or supported by Pakistan-based groups. • Major attacks: 2001 Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks (26/11), numerous attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

Nuclear Proliferation: • Nuclear proliferation refers to the spread of nuclear weapons, technology, and materials to states or non-state actors beyond the original nuclear weapon states. • It is a primary security concern because each new nuclear-armed state increases the risk of nuclear war, accident, or theft by terrorists. The Five Original Nuclear Weapon States: USA, Russia (USSR), UK, France, China — all acquired nuclear weapons before 1967. Key Treaties and Regimes: 1. NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1968): • The cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime. • Three pillars: (a) Non-proliferation: Non-nuclear states agree not to acquire nuclear weapons. (b) Disarmament: Nuclear weapon states agree to work toward nuclear disarmament. (c) Peaceful use: All states have the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. • Problems: The NPT is discriminatory — it enshrines a 'nuclear apartheid' dividing the world into nuclear haves and have-nots. The disarmament pillar has never been fulfilled. • Non-signatories: India, Pakistan, Israel (the three states known or believed to have nuclear weapons outside the NPT). • North Korea withdrew in 2003 and tested nuclear weapons. 2. CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, 1996): • Bans all nuclear explosions — for weapons testing or any other purpose. • Has not entered into force because eight key states (including the USA, China, India, Pakistan) have not ratified it. India's Position: • India has NOT signed the NPT and has NOT ratified the CTBT. • India's argument: The NPT is discriminatory — it accepts the permanent nuclear status of the five powers while denying the same right to others. India will not accept nuclear inferiority inscribed in international law. • India tested nuclear weapons in 1974 ('Smiling Buddha') and again in 1998 ('Pokhran II'), after which the USA imposed sanctions (later lifted). • India's nuclear doctrine: No First Use (NFU) and credible minimum deterrence. • The US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement (2008): The USA recognised India as a responsible nuclear state and allowed civilian nuclear cooperation — a significant shift in India's international nuclear status.